The Clandestine Newlywed Irises
by MatrixKnight
Summary: It's true, Neji and Hinata are older now, 16 and 17 to be exact, but the mission Lady Tsunade makes them take up is a little too mature for them. How will Neji and Hinata feel about going undercover as newlyweds? A requested fanfic by RiverDarkness. Rate T for suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

And there they were. Standing before Lady Tsunade, the fifth Hokage. He just finished assigning an outrageous mission to them. After she finished explaining it, the two were left standing there in shock.

"Tsunade-sama..." Neji's eyebrow twitched.

"Yes?" She responded.

"You're joking right?"

To the right of Neji was his cousin, Hinata, who was also trapped in shock from the explanation.

"Neji, do I seem like a woman who would kid you?"

"Sometimes yeah..."

Hinata played with her long silky hair nervously.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Anyway, you two don't have a choice. I'm assigning this mission to you, and _you will complete it_. I know you're very capable, especially when you two are put together. you're the perfect duo."

"Wait so let me run through this one more time..." Neji stopped her. "You want us to travel to the sand village, sneak into the rogue's inn, convince them we're _newlyweds_, catch them in the act of slave trading, arrest them, and bring them back here?"

"Exactly." She agreed unphased.

"We can do that without having to go undercover! We'll just need back up." Neji retorted.

"Idiot. If we had back up, do you think I'd be asking for your help?"

"Still..! We're cousins. Nonetheless Hyuuga's. It will too be suspicious that we look too much alike and our eyes give it away."

"If any questions are asked, just tell them your family intermarries in order to keep the bloodline pure, and the eyes aren't a problem we've worked everything out. Do you think I'd randomly hand you a mission without thinking everything through?"

"And what would Hiashi-sama say about this?"

"As far as Mr. Hyuuga is concerned he's not your problem. Like I've said, we've got everything under control."

"Tsunade-sama-"

"Neji I will not argue with you any longer. You're going undercover with Hinata whether you like it or not and that's final!" She threw a stack of papers loudly on her desk to shut him up. "Now, you better go home and start packing. You leave tomorrow morning for The Isago Kimu Inn in the Sand Village _at dawn_."

The two gasped in disbelief. "Tomorrow morning? That only gives us half the day to prepare." Neji objected her.

"How many times must I repeat myself?"

Neji bowed his head. "I'm very sorry Tsunade-sama..."

"Good. Now go home. I had my men send you the supplies you'll need on your journey. Put your leaf headbands on my desk."

The two untie their headbands and place them on her desk.

"Now, I pronounce you, husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Kakitsubata"

The two bow formally. "Thank you very much, 5th Hokage." They take their leave, both obviously reluctant of this mission.

Outside lady tsunade's office, the both of them stand there, being strangled by the awkward atmosphere. Neji cleared his throat. "Come. Let's go back." He walked ahead of Hinata, too troubled to walk beside her.

"Right." She followed behind him, the perfect duo keeping their distance.

"Kakitsubata huh...? She purposely named us after Irises." Neji sighed out.

"I heard that's what they named the mission... Kokuei No Kakitsubata. For, '_An Iris's Silhouette_'." Hinata responded, trying to make the conversation less awkward. "A pretty name for a criminal mission, don't you agree?"

"... Yeah." Neji said unpleased.

Hinata could feel the uneasiness between them. She hid in her shoulders, just like she used to three years ago. '_He's still angry about this mission... Is it... Is it because of me?_' She thought self consciously.

Back at the Hyuuga household, Hinata finished packing and decided to go over to Neji's room to see how he was doing. She knocked on his door, slightly hesitant. "Neji nii-sama?"

"Come in." He called out to her. Hinata slid the door open and let herself in. "I'm finished packing, and I was hoping after you we're finished we could maybe rehearse..."

"Rehearse?" He was looking through the supplies Lady Tsunade had sent them. Food and water for their trip, vacation yutaka's for the inn, matching sleeping wear, extra clothes for the week, wedding bands, towels, and... Eye contacts. Go figure. there was also a scroll there, giving permission to arrest the rogues once they caught them in action.

"Yeah, like, just in case we meet someone who questions us. Like where we first met, our first date, if we have any children... _our first kiss_..." She mumbled out.

"Ah-" He froze, then scrambled to put his things down. "-Alright. Take a seat somewhere. After this we should go over the supplies Tsunade-sama sent us."

"R-right... So, what do you want to discuss first?" She sat down in front of him, mentally waving away the awkwardness.

"Uh- Let's start off with the answers first, like you suggested. Where did we first meet?" He still had a hard time registering the fact that they were actually talking about this.

"Hmm..." Hinata shuffled her shoulders nervously. "Since we're still posing as cousins, I think we should have first met at your family's house. Maybe for an arranged marriage?"

"That's pretty basic. I like the idea."

"Me too." She smiled. "Our first date?"

"Since it's an arranged marriage, I think it would only make sense that we had arranged meetings set up by our parents as well."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "And... Was it love at first sight?" It slipped out. She was thinking it, but she didn't want to actually say it! "Ah-I mean-!"

"C-Change of subject..." He interrupted her. "I was also wondering if we should use our real first names for this mission."

"Change our first names? I guess that would be good too... Well in that case, You can call me, '_Hina-san'_." She smiled at him, playing with her fingers again.

"T-that could work... But, we're a married couple.-Or- are _going_ to be one. Would we need to add '_san_' after our names?"

"They use formalities in a lot of arranged marriages.. Don't they?"

"Alright. Then, what should my name be?"

"Well... Neji is too short to shorten even more... What if we changed your name to something with the word strong in it...?"

"Strong? Why strong?"

"Cause'... You are...?" Her face converted from white to red.

"Erh- You think so..? Hinata-sama is pretty strong too actually..."

"I dunno about that..." She looked up at him with her beautiful pale eyes.

"W-what?"

"Kenjou..."

"Kenjou..?"

"Thats' what your name should be. Kenjou-san. For strong fortress. It makes sense doesn't it?"

"Maybe to you." Neji crossed his arms to think about it.

"Oh. Then maybe it isn't a good name." She tilted her head to her knees, feeling even more insecure.

"But I like it. So i'll go with it." He smirked at her confidently. "One thing you have to remember, Hinata-sama, is that you can't be shy around these people. Any self hate towards yourself could screw up the mission."

"R-right..." She nodded. "So, our names are now Kakitsubata Hina, and Kakitsubata Kenjou. What next?"

"... Behavior but; we don't have too..." He scratched the side of his face. He didn't want to make Hinata awkward. Especially with a guy she didn't truly love.

"N-no. I think we should. If we're posing as a couple. We may as well behave like one, right?"

"I agree. We'll have plenty of time to practice while we travel to the Sand Village. And... About sleeping in the same bed... I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, it's okay. I'll sleep on the floor if you're uncomfortable sleeping with me."

"It's not that I'm uncomfortable..!" He put his hand over his face, trying to contain himself. "It's just... Inappropriate."

Hinata couldn't help but think bad things about herself with how he was reacting to their discussion. _'He really doesn't like me. Is it because I'm weak? Is it because he think's I'm sickening? What if we fail this mission because of me?_'

Neji blinked at her when he noticed how much she was trying to hide her thoughts. "Hinata-sama?"

"Neji nii-sama... Do you hate me?"

Neji jumped. "W-where'd you get that idea!?"

She sat there in silence, not wanting to respond or give her opinion. She didn't want to make him any angrier at her, even though that wasn't the case.

Neji sighed. "I don't hate you. I just want you to have the proper respect you deserve. We'll sleep in the same bed and act as if we're in love on this mission, but afterwards, you should only do those things with the person you really love. Okay?"

Hinata smiled at him. "Okay. I promise." Then she noticed. Without his leaf headband, his cursed mark is revealed. "Uhm... How are you going to hide that?" She pointed at his forehead.

"Oh. I have that covered as well." He pulled out a black headband with a white rim and tied it around his head. "I'll be wearing this for the majority of the trip. The only time I'll be able to take it off is when we go to sleep."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Oh-! I also think we should wear our hair up for a change."

"You're really... Into this aren't you?" He gave her an uninspired look.

"Yeah.. Maybe."

Neji finished packing up and stood to his feet. "We'll discuss the rest tomorrow. It's getting late, and we need our rest. We leave at dawn."

"Right." Hinata stood up as well, exiting his room. "Goodnight Neji nii-sa- I mean, Goodnight, Kenjou-san."

"You too, Hina-san."

The both part, Hinata returning to the main branch's household. Both barely able to sleep, they lay there, and think about the dawn. And how they are going to handle this clandestine engagement of the Irises. Will they fail? Or will they succeed?

We'll see.


	2. Chapter 2

"We're almost there." Neji stated as he and his cousin hopped through the skin crippling desert; sand clogging their vision and windpipes.

"Right." Hinata panted, trying to keep herself standing as she also tried to keep up with Neji. They had been going for several hours.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked her with concern. She had been telling him she was fine and could keep going for a couple of hours, but as time passed by, so did her strength.

"I can make it. We're close aren't we?" She blinked away the dizzyness.

"Yeah but we can still take a break. We still have a couple of hours in the evening to kill..."

"I said I'm fine-" She tried to state groggily, until she tripped, causing her to fall on her face. The sudden force that pushed her to the ground shocked her. Making her realize how tired she really was. Needless to say, she couldn't get back up.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji immediately came to her side to aid her. He wrapped her arm around his neck and flipped her over, holding her in his arms. "You _were_ pushing yourself!"

"I-I thought I could catch up to you... I didn't want to drag you down..."

"Even if you took a small break we would have still got there on time..." Looking into the blue eye contacts she was wearing, he lifted her up. "I'll carry you. It's only 15 minutes away."

"I'll be fine in a minute..."

"No, you won't. You'll still be exhausted in a minute." He made sure her backpack was still tightly strapped on and that he had a good grip on her before continuing.

"Neji nii-sama." She stopped him.

"Yes?"

"You look nice in a high ponytail." She complimented him with a weak smile. "You should wear it like that more often.

Neji turned red, and not because of the dry heat. "M-maybe I will." He began hopping on their trail, getting to the village at high speed.

Once they approached the gates, Neji put on an act of desperation. He ran up to the guards of the entrance; pleading. "Please let me in!" He makes it very convincing that he's worried. "My wife is sick and we need a place to stay!"

Hinata was actually asleep in his arms.

The people behind the guards were stopping to see what the commotion was about. Neji quickly handed a permission slip by Lady Tsunade to enter the village into the sand ninja's hand. The guard red it and immediately let him pass.

"Thank you!" He ran past them and the crowd of people, searching for the Isago Kimu Inn sign. When he finally found it, he noticed the outside. It was a massive building that looked very... luxurious. "They must have stolen a lot in order to build such a huge inn..." Brushing off the fact that the place was almost like a palace, he dashed through the front gate and into the inn. "Someone please give me a room! My wife is very ill and she needs rest."

The cashier quickly stepped in front of him. "Hold on a minute, you can't just barge in here and beg for a room. We don't give service for free, kid."

Neji gave him a very angry look, making it look like it was coming from distress over his '_wife_'. "If it's money you want, then take this." He handed the cashier a medium sized, but heavy, bag of yen. "Count it. I'm sure it's more than enough. You can even take the change."

The cashier's eyes lit up as he shoved the bag of money in his in his oversized Hakama. "Right this way, sir."

"Thank you." He followed him.

The cashier led them into a fairly large room on the fourth floor. It had plenty of floor space, a queen sized bed, a dresser, and a balcony. The wall pattern was black with magenta sakura trees and petals. The floors were finished tatami mats and the decoration was very oriental. "For rogue's, they put a lot of money into this..." He unstrapped Hinata's backpack and laid her gently on the bed. Once he caught himself smiling at her, he blushed. "I shouldn't be staring...!"

He sat down next to her, pulling his hair out of the ponytail. He noticed her hair that was tied up in a bun. '_That must be really uncomfortable. I should take it out._' He gently turned her head and pulled the indigo silk tie that was holding up her hair. He took out the long pin that went through it as well, admiring how beautiful she was with her hair down. Then it hit him again. His hand was burning from touching her cheek. His mind was going crazy. Crazy because he was looking at her lustfully, and crazy because of this whole situation! He didn't know if he could make it through... However long this mission was going to take.

He changed into his bedtime kimono and climbed in bed next to her, trying to calm his thoughts down. He was just about to fall asleep when suddenly two thin arms wrapped around his arms, pulling his back close from his shoulders. Hinata was dreaming about something, causing her to link her arms around his like a chain. She rested her head on his neck and curled up.

Neji was trembling with restraint. He kept himself quiet, but was having a hard time silencing his own beating heart that kept rising into his throat.

"Maybe I should sleep on the floor after all.." He said to himself, but her grasp got tighter. He was practically about to rip his pillow in half from how tight he was clenching onto it.

Needless to say, he didn't sleep that night.

At about four AM, Neji finally pried himself out from Hinata's arms and replaced himself with the pillow he almost tore in half. He climbed past her and walked out the door, trailing off through the halls.

"-We can't waste anymore time. The opening is clear, and we should be able to attack."

Neji quickly hid behind the corner of the hallway, listening in on the conversation.

"Headmaster Junichi told us to stay on hold for that raid. I'm as pissed off about this as you are, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"Then let's go talk to him! We can probably get him to change his mind. I've waited a month to do this thing and to get paid!"

"Undo that wedgie of yours and keep it down! We have guests sleeping in here. You don't want to wake them up."

"Like I care about that."

Neji looked down at his feet. 'So they aren't attacking yet...' He was just about to walk off when he heard another pair of feet running towards the two that were conversing. He halted himself.

"You two! I just got word from headmaster Junichi. It's about the plans for the raid in Konoha."

'_Konoha?_' Neji thought to himself.

"What about it?" The calmer one of the two asked.

"He wants us to gather in the meeting room at midnight. I think he's finally going to make this plan active." The messenger replies.

"I hope so. We haven't acted in weeks. I was startin' to get aches in my body from sitting around too long."

Once the trio walked off, Neji stood there thinking about what just happened. They were going to attack Konoha, and Hinata and him were the only ones in the sand village to stop these guys.

'_They're meeting tonight... I'll talk to Hinata-sama once she wakes up and send word out to Lady Tsunade immediately._' He calmly walked back to his bedroom. His eyes were bloodshot. He decided once he got back he would just take a pillow and camp out on the floor. Maybe he could get at least 2 hours of sleep. Knowing Hinata, she'd probably even let him sleep in from guilt over the fact that he had to carry her all the way over to the inn and take care of her.

Neji walked in their room and saw Hinata crushing that pillow he gave her. He sighed in relief. '_I'm glad I left while I did._'

Pulling out a small blanket from their cargo, he grabbed one of the extra pillows off of the bed and layed on the floor next to Hinata's side. His deep thoughts putting him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"-Ji nii-sama... Neji nii-sama...?"

Neji opened his eyes lazily to Hinata who was staring down at him with concern. Neji, still being half asleep started seeing sparkles and flowers around her. He just stared at her as he lay there on the hard floor.

"Neji nii-sama... Are you oka-"

"Beautiful..."

The room suddenly went silent. Hinata's face turned beat red as she looked around the area and looked back down at the still half asleep Neji. "W-what is...?"

It took Neji a few seconds to register what he just said. He quickly sat up, clashing foreheads with Hinata at the simultaneously. Hinata turned over and held her head, trying to hold back tiny whimpers of pain. Neji jumped, hoping this morning wouldn't continue to be a _total_ disaster.

"Hinata-sama, I'm really sorry-" He grabbed onto her shoulder apologetically, then retracted his hand, which was now burning from embarrassment. He didn't realize just touching her would have this big of an affect on him! Neji sprinted out of bed and fixed his kimono. "I-I'll go find something for your head. You go ahead and get changed." He was about to take a step outside of the hotel door when Hinata suddenly grabbed his arm, sending a ripple of jitters down his spine and through his arms; rising goosebumps.

"Wait- Neji-nii-sama!" She called in distress.

"W-what is it-?" He stiffy turned his neck towards her without making eye contact.

Hinata spun him around and tied his headband around his forehead. "You forgot this... You don't want to be revealed, do you?"

Neji stood there, mind racing with so many unspeakable thoughts. All of this was going through his mind, yet in reality he couldn't speak a single word, nonetheless move!

'_She's... So close to me..._' his heart thumped out of his chest. '_Her... Her body- Wait! No no no no! What's the matter with me?_'

Hinata saw a plain expression with quivering lips on the outside. She looked at him in concern and went to touch his cheek. "Neji-nii-?"

Neji flinched. "Ah. Sorry. I have to hurry up, you're forehead must hurt after all. Oh wait! Contacts." He walked around her and closed himself in their bathroom so that he could put in the contacts. When in reality, he shut the door and slid down to the floor. His hand was clamped over his mouth. He started an emotional war with himself between denial, and hormonal fluctuations. Neji clenched his chest, trying to calm his frantic mind down. "What's... Wrong with me?"

-  
It was a very awkward trip to the nearby marketplace. Since Hinata and Neji's arms were locked around each other. Neji - or '_Kenjou-san_', was trying his best not be stiff in the crowded, windy area. '_Hina-san_' was doing just fine though. Smiling and happily leaning on him. Neji wanted to know her secret. He wanted her to teach him to loosen up and not look suspicious in front of strangers and possible shinob-

"Look at this, Kenjou-san!" Hinata yanked Neji by the arm so the both of them were facing a wooden shop. Many sand charms, dream catchers, and tribal masks decorated the walls, tables and hung from the ceiling. Other charms and jewels were also there. Neji wasn't particularly interested in jewels and lucky charms. Even if it _was_ apart of his culture.

But looking down at his cousin and how much she was enjoying looking around, her smile rubbed off on him. He couldn't hold back a smudge of the smirk behind his ego.

"Kenjou-san, look at this necklace." Hinata picked up a string necklace with an oval shaped Zircon in the middle. A silver rim was around it to hold it in place. He picked it up and examined it's beauty thoroughly, almost as if she was attached to it.

'_That's Hinata-sama's birthstone, isn't it?_' He blinked then smiled again. "Do you want that, Hina-san?"

Hinata snapped out of her accessorizing fantasies and looked up at Neji, flustered a bit. "Oh, no I just think it looks nice." She lied before placing it back on the table and once again, clinging to Neji's arm, sending a shockwave of goosebumps up to his neck.

"I-if you want it, I can get it for you." He offered. Lady Tsunade gave them plenty of money to spend, even on themselves. And Neji wasn't one to throw money around, but it couldn't be that expensive right? This will make up for the birthdays he missed out on when he was having... '_Main Family_' issues. Even if it _was_ out of Tsunade's pocket.

Besides, it was her fault giving a teenage girl and a guy who has a crush on that teenage girl money.

"Yes but, I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble. I can live without it."

"-But the stone seems to like you very much."

Hinata and Neji turned to an elderly lady who just walked out of the door behind the counter. She slowly approached them and lifted the necklace carefully. "Did you know crystals have their own souls and powers? They help to fend off negative spirits and energy. Of course you can do those things with prayer, candles, sweet grass, holy water, and sage. But what makes the crystals different, is that they can also heal your soul as well."

Neji didn't buy it for a second, but Hinata was superstitious. And she was enjoying the conversation very much. Neji just wanted to get out of here before the old hag tried to sell them everything in the shop.

"Can crystals really do those things?" Hinata asked as if to be reassured.

"Yes." The lady said. "The energies from this stone are particularly strong today. And I think it's because of you. I was wondering what was disturbing the presence in my shop. If you buy it, you can protect yourself, and heal others as well."

Hinata bit her lip slightly before looking up at Neji with contact covered puppy dog eyes saying '_What should I do?_'

Neji sighed. "How much is it, obaa-san?" He totally caved. So much for being a man.

"10,000 yen." She held her hand out.

Neji's mouth dropped along with his wallet. 100 bucks for a crystal whose magic might not work? Yeah right.

"We can't afford that. Let's go, Hina-san." He put a hand on her back, meaning to drag her out of that store, when the lady called to them again.

"-You know what, I'll cut the price by half and even throw in a dream catcher. How does that sound?"

"Not interested." Neji's vein pulsed. He knew it all along that she was just a salesman who was trying to pick pockets with unreasonable prices for crafts she could have made from materials that don't even worth as much as their price. He grabbed Hinata's wrist and dragged her out as the lady threatened to curse them for not buying anything from her shop.

Hinata looked back feeling guilty, and neji could sense it already. "Just ignore her. She's a conny."

She jumped slightly in realization that she was showing her emotions, and she didn't want to be an inconvenience to Neji while they were on their mission. She looked up at her cousin and smiled, slightly comforted by his words. "Y-you're right. I won't worry about it." Her eyes slowly moved down to his empty hand, but she caught herself. Hinata averted her eyes and wallowed in her own thoughts. '_No, it will probably be uncomfortable for him... Besides, he looked... Sick this morning... Probably because of me..._'

"What's wrong." Neji blinked.

"Oh- nothing, I was just thinking." She put up her hands and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear that escaped her bun.

"... About?" He raised an eyebrow curiously; hoping she wasn't worrying about making him uncomfortable again.

"Oh... Uhm... Well... We're in public. I thought- we would seem more like a couple if we... we..." She stopped and looked away, blushing.

Neji had a slight flush across his face. He was imagining every answer possible that would come from her mouth. But wait, she wouldn't be so bold too... No. He needed to calm himself down. He took a deep breath and questioned her. "-If we..?"

Hinata lowered her voice. "Held... Hands?"

His face went blank. That was it? He was imagining kissing, hugging, arms around each other. Things he couldn't control his manly side with. But holding hands he was capable of keeping himself in check. He smiled in sudden and unexpected happiness as he softly wrapped his fingers around her much smaller hand. Hinata's slowly intertwining with his in return.

They both strolled down the marketplace, the sound of voices, performers, and buzzing becoming inaudible around them as an aura of bliss surrounded them, blocking out the rest of the world. Those two the only ones in existence. As they smiled and stared into each other's eyes, a spark of ecstasy jumped in their hearts... As if they were really falling into their roles.

Maybe... It was becoming more than an undercover assignment. Maybe; _just maybe_ they were really in-

-"_**HYAAAAAAA**_"

The two cousins snapped out of their thoughts and turned to the direction the scream came from. The crowd got quieter with baffled whispers. Heads turning. Some trying to see where it came from, some looking at others; who were just as confused.

"... Did you hear that?" Neji looked around him.

"Yeah..."

"_**NO! STOP! PLEASE LET ME GO-**_" A loud slam interrupted the shrieking voice. Neji and Hinata jumped again.

"Could it be a kidnapping?" Hinata said under her breath in distress.

Neji squeezed her hand tighter and began to run in the direction the screaming was coming from. "Let's find out!"

The two of them dashed as fast as they could. It was hard for them to use Byakugan with colored contacts, but it still somewhat worked. Cutting several corners, shops, and buildings to get to their destination, they stopped in an alleyway. Neji looked around, trying to search for the source. When suddenly, the two heard the sound of horses neighing and clopping it's feet on the ground- an angry man silencing it after. The two immediately ran towards the sound, running behind a building to see horses tied to a metal cart. Where a man picked up a knocked out prostitute and threw her in the back of it. He slammed the doors shut, turning to his comrade. They both had grey masks covering their head and nose down.

"Is that the last of them?" The one on the left said.

"Yeah. Man, they're so noisy. Let's get out of here before anyone catches-"

The man shut up when suddenly there was a kunai pointed as his throat, the other pale free hand pointed at a vital chakra point near his heart. "Mind telling me what's going on?"

The man looked down at Neji with wild eyes- then at his partner, who was going to come up behind Neji and attack. When Hinata knocked him out by hitting a chakra hole in neck with her fingers in one swift movement.

Neji shifted his eyes for a second just from the thud behind him caused by Hinata. But when he looked back, the guy had disappeared from his grasp in the blink of an eye. He stood up straight and looked around, when suddenly smoke blew up in front of their eyes, blocking their vision and also making it hard to breath.

The sound of Hinata getting hit was quickly cut off with a thud. Neji covered his face with his sleeve as he navigated his way through the smoke, not trying to breath it in, whatever was making him choke. "Hina-chan!? Hinata-sama!" Before he knew it, the smoke disappeared and there was Hinata, laying face down on the sand, unconscious. The two shinobi were gone, and so was their carriage. But Neji decided to worry about that later. He rushed to her side and propped her up on his arm, popping his contacts out and using Byakugan to check for any vital wounds as he called her name.

"Hinata-sama... Hang in there. Hinata-sa-" He stopped short when he saw there was a blow to the back of her head, leaving a small bump and a bruise. He sighed with relief that it wasn't life threatening and pulled her limp body into his. Embracing her tightly...

… But she was still hurt. And he couldn't protect her properly. The thought about it was bugging him immensely. '_Hinata-sama.. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'll make sure it never happens again. What would your father say about thi-_'

No... It wasn't about what her father thought. It was about how pathetic he felt. The contacts were fogged because of the smoke, and he couldn't use byakugan properly. Making him almost completely invaluable. It hurt his pride as a genius. Sometimes he wished he acted more than analyzed.

He lifted her light body off the ground and into his arms closely. '_I'll take the backroads back to the hotel and sneak into our room so nobody notices my eyes... Those guys, they'll pay for this._'

With that, he disappeared into the shadows.


End file.
